"Panzer III and it's variants" by Spielberger says that Finland's StuG 40s were kept in action thanks to spare parts purchased in 1948 from Norway, which included a complete StuG 40 and 20~ Pz III chassis.

Some of these vehicles were used for training purposes; while others were stored as Army Reserve Stocks.

In 1960, all 45 remaining StuG 40 were released for use in training, and they remained in service until December 1966, when they were scrapped.

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to MarkSheppard For This Useful Post:

While looking at information on the web on Finnish StuG 40s, while trying to find photos of them on parade in the 1950s and 1960s, I found some info (mostly the same thing repeated over on multiple sites) that after the StuGs were withdrawn for scrapping/disposal in December 1966 a few StuGs found themselves dug in as motionless pillboxes at a few strategic airfields in Finland to protect against surprise attacks.

At first, I thought it was because my BS alarms were going off; but I found a page on Finnish StuGs that specifically listed an exact hull # and the location where it was dug in.

After it's regular service ended in 1966 this StuG was dug in as a pillbox around Hamina and served on until the 1980's. After that the StuG has been on the Hätilä shooting range in Hämeenlinna. The hull is still quite intact.

A old forum post from 2007 was also found detailing other pillboxed vehicles and the modifications made to pillboxed vehicles:

Well it was quite a trip to Finland this month as I took part in both the artillery and armor auctions held by the Finnish Defense Forces.

This was interesting as it was the first time Finland had done such an auction for armor so this was a first for me along with being a first for Finland.

...

Tank-Armor Auction

The armor auction was a true historic event as this was the first time Finland has sold tanks in such a manner. In fact a government having an open auction such as this is indeed a rare event and I was pleased just to be there. There were 14 British Charioteers, 4 British Comets, and 3 German Stugs listed in the sale. The British tanks all came to Finland in the postwar years while the Stugs were bought from Germany in 1944.

The Finnish Army had advertised this sale in a number of media outlets and the general press in Finland also had covered the upcoming auction in detail. Due to these facts it was believed the auction would attract a number of bidders and a number of spectators.

I went to the preview with two of my Finnish friends to check over the British tanks and condition was as stated in the auction notes – varied. Some of the tanks were in decent shape while others were not so good. It was clear some of the tanks had been used as targets in one form or the other with some showing signs of being on fire in the past.

Most of the tanks lacked engines or gearboxes as they had been used as pillboxes. Many of the Charioteers had been in service at the Helsinki and other airports in security duties. In the tanks used as pillboxes the engine areas had been replaced by wooden floors to allow easy movement and access.

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to MarkSheppard For This Useful Post:

While looking at information on the web on Finnish StuG 40s, while trying to find photos of them on parade in the 1950s and 1960s, I found some info (mostly the same thing repeated over on multiple sites) that after the StuGs were withdrawn for scrapping/disposal in December 1966 a few StuGs found themselves dug in as motionless pillboxes at a few strategic airfields in Finland to protect against surprise attacks.

At first, I thought it was because my BS alarms were going off; but I found a page on Finnish StuGs that specifically listed an exact hull # and the location where it was dug in.

After it's regular service ended in 1966 this StuG was dug in as a pillbox around Hamina and served on until the 1980's. After that the StuG has been on the Hätilä shooting range in Hämeenlinna. The hull is still quite intact.

(Text seems to have a typo or missing word, translating as I understood it should read. Samaan = "to the (very) same" which makes no sense at all, maybe "samaan aikaan" ~ "at that time")

Quote:

At that time the only equipment in Armoured Brigade (PsPr) thought to be usable in combat was Stug III assault guns (Sturm-rynnäkkötykit), which were used until 1960's. After that part of the equipment was placed as pill boxes to protect critical locations, such as in Upinniemi. The weapons of these vehicles were known to be fired last in year 1979.

Finnish reports to OSCE had been under the true numbers for FGs. For example in 2014 Finland had reported zero 152mm FGs but in 2016 numbers they list 24 of them. This is because the treaty does not include the navy strength and some of the equipment was under navy control as coastal defense batteries. Quoting the article: "The military leadership was mostly fooling the civilians; that is, researchers, politicians and the general public, who are forced to rely on the OSCE public notices as the only source of information."

152 K 89 (2A36) will probably need an extension to what has previously been written in the light of this new information.